5.1 / Surround suggestions?

Culinia

Culinia

Culinia

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Possibly looking for 5.1/surround suggestions.

I'm not really sure how much I should spend. Right now I use my Sennheiser HD555 headphones as main source of audio. So any surround system of better or equal value to those headphones will be appreciated as a starting point for me to look into.

Primarily going to be used for gaming (BF3, CSGO, L4D2 etc)

Judging by the prices, not sure whether to aim for 'mid range' Edifier DA5000 Pro (@£189) or go for the premium Logitech Z906 5.1 (@£320) or just make do with the cheap Creative T6160 5.1 Speaker System (@£54).

Again, I am aiming for equal or better experience with external 5.1 set-up compared to my current Sennheiser HD555 headphones (+integrated speakers, although they don't count lol).

PS: Soundcard = Creative X-fi Titanium

Thanks for any suggestions :)
 
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Culinia I'm have only heard Sennheiser HD650's, and they are balanced, the bass is good but isn't overly boomy, what you'd expect from hifi headphones really...is this what you're aiming for?
 
Thanks for feedback. To be honest I am not sure.

I am aiming for 5.1 for gaming/different gaming experience that does not sound worse than what I am used to basically. My logic being trying not to 'downgrade' to tinny speakers like on the ones of the monitor etc or to perceive less quality than my current set-up i.e. why bother using external speakers if I could carry on and use headphones.

I am not sure about the details regarding base (still not 100% sure what it is tbh) so I am open to any suggestions really.

I am guessing by this rather ignorant answer now that I think of it that any cheap ones will suit me fine. Although I am not sure at which (price) point the external speakers will offer equal or better value quality sound compared to my current headphones.

Although apart from gaming I like 40s, 50s 60s music mostly (i.e. Fallout & Mafia 2 style music) which is the only other thing I can think of I would use since I have not watched movies nor find comfortable watching them at my desk and chair.

LOL, thanks for reading and help so far!
 
it's gonna cost you a lot of money to replicate the sound from your headphones in a 5.1 setup. you will not get it from a cheap set of speakers and the minimum i'd recommend is the Logitech z906. I'd suggest you shop around though.
 
Bass is low end parts of music, the sounds that will be coming from your sub woofer. Cheaper systems usually have overpowering bass and a tinny sound but can add to the immersion of games and films.

How often do you game?
 
I'd suggest going down the 2nd hand Hi-Fi / AV separates route.

I picked up a Harman Kardon AVR-255 receiver on the bay recently for not much over £100. Saw an AVR-155 go for £90 a few days ago.

Add some speakers (again 2nd hand) and you've got a very decent surround setup - potentially more capable and certainly more feature rich than the Logitech z906 for less money.

Additionally - those Harman Kardon receivers I mentioned have Dolby Headphone and Dolby Virtual speaker. These do a very passable impression of surround sound using headphones (your HD555s would do nicely) or stereo speakers. Due to restrictions of being in a terraced house with kids I regularly use Dolby Headpone (and very rarely use speakers at any enjoyably listenable volume) but don't feel like I'm having to compromise on sound much by using headphones.

You could start off with stereo speakers and add more / better speakers when funds allow if you wanted (however, Dolby Virtual Speaker is very dependent on room layout and it would be better to go straight for a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker layout).
 
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My Sennheiser's have now broken.

So I am now looking into 5.1 more seriously now since I can't play like this!

I was thinking of getting Tannoy HTS101 5.1 speaker package and a Yamaha RXV373...(cost ~£500) thoughts?
 
Sounds like a good choice to me. I'd certainly not go down the cheap 5.1 PC speaker route, not unless you are really strapped for cash. The only thing good about them is that they are cheap and they make some kind of noise. Once you've used good headphones they really sound dire. Z906 would be a much better choice, but obviously a fair bit more cash. I'm not convinced they and the model they replaced (Z5500) are such a great buy anymore. Years ago, the choice around £250-£300 for a AV receiver and 5.1 speakers was almost non existent, which made the Z5500 really good value. Nowadays, you can buy some very good budget alternatives and for a bit more money, something that not only will sound better, but also offers more upgradeability and a lot more connectivity.
 
Hey thanks for the feedback...

Before I go forward with this I want to ask: is the receiver neccessary?

I am not sure if I know what the full purpose is. If I just use the Creative Xfi Titanium soundcard what would be the difference between one or not?
 
Marsman said:
Sounds like a good choice to me. I'd certainly not go down the cheap 5.1 PC speaker route, not unless you are really strapped for cash. The only thing good about them is that they are cheap and they make some kind of noise. Once you've used good headphones they really sound dire. Z906 would be a much better choice, but obviously a fair bit more cash. I'm not convinced they and the model they replaced (Z5500) are such a great buy anymore. Years ago, the choice around £250-£300 for a AV receiver and 5.1 speakers was almost non existent, which made the Z5500 really good value. Nowadays, you can buy some very good budget alternatives and for a bit more money, something that not only will sound better, but also offers more upgradeability and a lot more connectivity.
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I pretty much agree with you.

I currently have the Logitech Z906 speaker system, they are a fantastic package for what they are meant to do but they will never give you the high end, crystal clear sound like a good make of headphones do.

For films the Logitech Z906 are great, but if your into your music like i am i find they lack at the top end, the clarity at the high end is passable but its not top end. If you bought the Z906 setup you wouldn't be disappointed, far from it.

I'm going down the seperates route myself, i just need to find out whats the best type of amp to use or whether its just a receiver i need then onto the speakers etc.
 
Culinia said:
Hey thanks for the feedback...

Before I go forward with this I want to ask: is the receiver neccessary?

I am not sure if I know what the full purpose is. If I just use the Creative Xfi Titanium soundcard what would be the difference between one or not?
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Absolutely. The receiver is a 5.1/7.1 amplifier. Speakers need power. A sound card can power headphones with ease as they need very little power to work. Speakers on the other hand need far more than a sound card can provide. Connecting passive speakers directly to the sound card without an amplifier will result in almost no volume at all. 2.1/5.1 PC speakers have the amplifier built into the subwoofer unit.

AV receivers also offer a lot of connectivity. A lot of the time they are used in conjunction with consoles, DVD/BD players, Sky/Freesat boxes, etc. If the speakers are only for PC use, then maybe so many connections are not required. If you'd rather have speakers without a AV receiver, that leaves either Logitech Z906, used Z5500 or cheap 5.1 speakers.

Some people choose to go for these all in one DVD/BD based 5.1 systems instead. They are cheap and look better than they actually are; they offer no flexibility at all. Later down the road some people decide they want to use the system for other devices, and are left with something that really is rather useless due to the lack of inputs. If only they spend the extra in the first place.

You can buy some pretty decent budget AV receiver and speaker packages from Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer for £200 to £300, if you feel £500 is a lot to spend. Obviously £500 system is going to be better, but the cheaper systems are still good and offer decent connectivity should you wish to connect other devices later on.
 
If I was in your position I'd buy a second hand receiver, older ones without the new tech. can be had for as little as a fifth of what they original cost and then I'd do the same for the speakers, taking care to match them up (fronts, rears and centre) if I couldn't get them as a set from the same source. I wouldn't bother with separate 5.1 connections from your soundcard, I'd connect the receiver using the S/PDIF as the DAC in the receiver will almost certainly be better than the one on your soundcard. You'll notice I've not mentioned a sub., that's because depending on what front speakers you potentially buy, the acoustics of your man cave and your ears, you may decide that you don't want one.
 
BlackBat said:
If I was in your position I'd buy a second hand receiver
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Best way really. Gets analogue inputs and saves a pile of cash.

BlackBat said:
I still wouldn't bother with connecting it via analogue inputs, S/PDIF will sound better, even via the mobo.
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That's the problem with buying a receiver that has a new price of maybe £500 or more. The sound quality of it's DAC is going to be more than good enough to make using analogue inputs from a sound card, a waste of time really. If 6/8CH analogue inputs were available on low end AV receivers, well that's a different matter.
 
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